Episodes

In this episode you’ll hear about how bees need both pollen and nectar, why you might be able to find Meyer Lemons without growing them, when roses should be pruned and a houseplant called “climbing onion.”
:30 Did You Know: Meyer Lemons might be foraged?
4:02 Eat/Drink/Grow: Making the bees happy with pollen and nectar.
14:40 Inside Information: There’s an easy to grow houseplant called the climbing onion. (aka Bowiea volubilis)
18:07 Love Letters and Questions: Sandy asks when roses...

Learn about the best containers for starting seeds (and it’s not ice cream cones or eggshells), why leaf edges are important, and how to make “juice mousse.” Plus a discussion about how good potting mix can go bad.
:31 What’s For Dinner: Juice Mousse – (no, not moose juice!)
4:04 Plant Noob: What are the “leaf margins” and why is this information useful?
7:20 Eat/Drink/Grow: Containers for seed starting…and no, those cute photos on Pinterest or Facebook aren’t a good idea.
17:45 Love...

Double digging of soil, repotting plants in larger pots, and growing hot peppers, are on today’s episode. Discover starting peppers from seed and preserving them after harvest, plus learn if the “hot lips plant” is for real.
:28 True or False? Double digging – what is it and is it necessary when starting a garden?
6:47 Plant Noob: Do I need to use a larger pot when repotting a plant?
11:30 Eat/Drink/Grow Many like it hot! Everything you ever wanted to know about spicy peppers
23:05 Love...

C.L. and Ellen discuss wilted plants and how to tell why they are drooping, we recommend two newsletters to sign up for, and discuss the bark on trees…what it does and why it’s different on each type of tree. Ellen tells us the story of how she went from a Broadway performer to plant geek, and we answer Ami’s question about plants to put on a sunny slope.
:30 True or False? A wilted plant needs watering.
3:48 Plant noob: Great newsletters to subscribe to.
Ned Friedman’s observations from...

In Episode 67 Ellen and C.L. talk about oyster mushrooms, those creepy aphids, and houseplants that you can easily share with the world. We end by answering Patty’s question about GMO verses hybrid plants.
:30 What’s for dinner: Oyster mushrooms! Forage for them, grow them or buy them in the supermarket.
4:31 Insider Information: Creepy, crawly and ever-present aphids.
10:55 Eat/Drink/Grow: Pass along houseplants
Shout out to The Gardenangelists podcast.
19:09 Love Letters and...

This program explains why you might want to plant a hickory tree, and which flowers can be started indoors this spring. C.L. and Ellen also discuss how organic fertilizers work and why you should appreciate that they aren’t instantly available to plants. The episode ends with the mystery of the disappearing foxglove plants.
:30 Did You Know: What is a shagbark hickory tree and why should you care?
recipe for shagbark hickory syrup
Go Native Tree Farm in Manheim PA is a place you can...

In this episode Ellen and C.L. talk about eating the tips off of spruce trees, what people mean when they say they are “forcing plants,” and which houseplants can bring fragrance into your home this winter.
:32 What’s for dinner: Spruce tips! Euell Gibbons was right…
5:35 Plant Noob: What does “forcing plants” mean?
9:13 Eat/Drink/Grow: Growing fragrant houseplants
16:00 Love Letters and Questions: Randall asks if the Plantrama team will be back in Seattle this winter for the Northwest...

In Episode 64 C.L. and Ellen discuss the “rainbow rose scam,” how to handle the plants in a dish garden, growing and eating Jerusalem artichokes, and smaller sunflowers for the garden.
:28 True or False? You Can Grow Rainbow Roses From Seed
4:49 Plant Noob: What to do with a dish garden long term
8:19 Eat/Drink/Grow: Jerusalem artichokes - Helianthus tuberosus, aka sunchokes.
17:10 Love Letters and Questions: Sandy asks about growing dwarf sunflowers
This episode of Plantrama is...

On this winter episode Ellen and C.L. consider a North American native plant that has been a favorite flavoring for gum, tea and toothpaste. We discuss why perennials bloom at a particular time of year, chat about why we love bromeliad plants, and explain how to care for them. At the end of the podcast we answer Paul’s question about GMO seeds.
:31 What’s For Dinner? Wintergreen – leaves and berries.
6:44 Insider Information: Why do perennials bloom at a particular time?
10:33...

In this December episode Ellen and C.L. talk about nematodes (harmful and beneficial), and the amazing sex life of the avocado flower. C.L. gives her opinion about putting small berms in a landscape, and tells a story that her berm rant sparked from someone in her audience. We answer Ellen’s question about gardening when high…in an upper altitude, that is.
:27 Did You Know? What the heck are nematodes, and should gardeners care?
6:00 Eat/Drink/Grow: All about avocados. A pretty cool sex...

Ellen and C.L. talk about lucky bamboo; what type of plant it is and how to care them. We explain what bracts are and why some plants have very showy ones, talk about making more plants by air layering, and answer Sal’s question about pruning evergreens now so the greens can be used for holiday decorating.
:32 True or False? Lucky bamboo. Is it really bamboo? Is it lucky?
7:25 Plant Noob: Bracts. What are they?
12:20 Eat/Drink/Grow: Propagating plants by “air layering.”
17:51 Love...

Hear Ellen and C.L. talk about the practice of putting human hair in the garden will keep critters away. Next we explain how to get a peace lily to flower again, and the difference been a plant that’s an epiphyte and one that’s a parasite. C.L. tells how she came to be a garden communicator (she never intended to write and talk about plants and gardens!) and we answer Sam’s question about when biennials flower.
:32 True or False? Will human hair keep critters out of the garden?
3:12 Plant...

Acorn baklava and creamed chard start off this episode. Hear how holiday boxwood trees are made, and learn about providing your indoor plants with supplemental lighting. A listener asks about “seed FOMO” – should seeds be ordered now and will they still be good next spring?
:40 What’s for dinner: Ellen and C.L. talk about what dishes are on their Thanksgiving table. As usual, Ellen’s forager’s table is way more exotic than C.L.’s gardener’s table.
6:11 Insider Information: How are the...

In this episode of Plantrama Ellen and C.L. talk about a very common (and edible) weed known as shepherd’s purse. They discuss how to successfully grow the large-foliaged houseplant, fiddle leaf fig, and explain the benefits of worm castings. Their question this week comes from Carson who wants to know how to prevent mouse damage in her house and shed.
:28 Did You Know: We talk about a common weed, Capsella bursa-pastoris, aka shepherd’s purse.
5:50 Eat/Drink/Grow: Learn about the current...

On Plantrama today Ellen talks about cooking dandelion greens and then she and C.L. differ about bringing someone a plant as a gift. They agree about growing and how to over-winter tropical hibiscus, and explain how to store dahlia tubers.
:31 What’s For Dinner: How to cook dandelion greens.
Find Ellen's recipes and links on our website.
4:10 Plant Noob: Should you bring someone a plant as a gift? Ellen and C.L. disagree.
9:09 Eat Drink Grow: Tropical hibiscus – how to keep this lovely...

In this episode we talk about the common belief that the shells of sunflower seeds “poison plants.” We also discuss why some people can grow blue mop head hydrangeas but others have a hard time getting them to flower. You’ll learn about the importance of cattails in nature and to a forager, and hear about preserving a #LeafStackChallenge.
:28 True or false? Birdseed shells poison plants. Are they really allelopathic? (Allelopathy is a biological occurrence when an organism/plant produces...

Ellen and C.L. begin by talking about walnuts, foraged and cultivated. Discover if banana peels are good for your roses and if you need to spray your evergreens with an anti-desiccant. Learn how to store seeds that you didn’t use last summer, and if common houseplants are edible.
:32 What’s For Dinner? English walnuts and foraged black walnuts.
4:22 Insider Information: Are banana peels really good for roses?
8:50 Eat/Drink/Grow: Anti-desiccants. What they are, what they do, and should...

Ellen and C.L. discuss why you might not want to do a “fall cleanup” of your perennials. Next, we discuss S-E-X among the photosynthesizing crowd. Male and female plants, what that means for your landscape, and what happens if you don’t have both sexes. We review Asclepias speciosa ‘Davis’ and bring you up to date about #LeafStackChallenge posts on Twitter and Instagram.
:33 Did You Know: Leaving perennials so the birds can eat the seeds.
5:35 Eat/Drink/Grow: Plant Sex! Male and female...

Today we’re talking about carrots, wild and domestic. We explain that before a plant has fruit it comes into flower, and discuss the how, why, how often and when of repotting houseplants. This episode finishes with Sandy’s question,“Can I plant, or eat, the seeds we take out of the pumpkins that are being carved for Halloween?”
:30 What’s For Dinner: Carrots
4:52 Plant Noob: Flowers Before Fruit
8:28 Eat/Drink/Grow: Repotting Houseplants
20:50 Love Letters and Questions: Eating and...